WW1 assessment Flashcards
1914
the first battle of Ypres
British lost 50,000+
German held Ypres and controlled English ports
1915
the use of mines at Hill 60:
Germans captured it 1914 and the height gave them an advantage, but in April 1915 the British tunnelled in and placed 5 mines blowing off the top
The second battle of Ypres:
first time Germans used chlorine gas on the Western Front, 59,000 British men lost, at the end of the battle the Germans had moved 2 miles closer to Ypres of the Eastern side of the salient
1916
the battle of the Somme:
57,000 casualties and 20,000 deaths. two strategies that lead to this - creeping barrage and first use of tanks
Tunnels, caves and quarries linked at Arras:
shelter German attack and enable safe movement
2.5 miles of tunnel in 5 months
could fit 20,000 men in
it had a hospital, electric lights, water and railway
the hospital had 750 spaces for stretcher beds and it had an operating theatre
1917
the battle of Arras: (April / May)
24,000 men attacked the German trenches
British advanced 8 miles
16,000 casualties
the third battle of Ypres: (July / Nov)
the purpose of this battle was to break out of the Ypres Salient and take high ground off Germans, prepared in Messines where they drove Germans from a part of the Ypres Salient. 31st July British marched east to Passchendaele and advanced 2 miles until men began to drown in the mud or run away - 245,000 casualties
the battle of Cambrai:
artillery barrage changes so Germans had less warning, first large scale use of tanks (500), they could move easily across barbed wire and their machine guns were effective
describe features of the Western Front TERRAIN which made it difficult for medical services to treat injured soldiers?
- the terrain was covered in fertiliser containing lots of bacteria meaning to would worsen wounds causing them to turn septic so it was difficult to treat before they died. caused tetanus but from late 1914 tetanus injections but no prevention for gas gangrene
- constant shelling and digging of trenches left the ground uneven and full of craters. made it difficult to reach them and transport safely
- vast and exposed landscape
- muddy and damp causing trench foot
describe the features of trenches?
- dugouts for shelter against fire, weather conditions and used for storage
- wooden support beams that prevent the mud slipping into the trench to help causing things like trench foot
- easier to defend then attack as barbed wire and machine guns were placed at the edge slowing down any attacks
- 2.5 metres deep
- zig zag shape
- communications trench
- support trench
- reserve trench
- artillery placements
stretcher bearers
carry casualties away from frontline day and nigh exposing themselves to shelling and gunfire
further away from the frontline more advanced medical procedures could be carried out and provide protection against shelling
how could you follow up source A to find out more about…
- pick a detail or quote from the source
- write a why/how question you would ask
- write what type of source you could use to follow this up
- write how this may help my answer to the enquiry of source A
chain of evacuation
stretcher bearers ->
regimental aid post: close to front line and administered basic first aid ->
dressing station: often only one dressing station in abandoned bunkers, buildings and dugouts sometimes even tents
when in theory there should have been more. stage 2 was also field ambulances which was a unit of the RAMC that didn’t move it could deal with 150 men but in major battles they had to deal with 1000. could only look after each man for a week. ->
casualty clearing stations: far from frontline but accessible for ambulance wagons, ones closest to frontline would specialise in the most critical injuries up to the chest. - triage ( French for selecting) due to gangrene quickly developing in wounds, ccs were doing operations people originally believed would be done in base hospitals ->
Base hospitals:
located near French and Belgium ports so near ports to go back to Britain
stationary and general hospitals
examples of very specific sources
photo of an allied soldier being treated in a field hospital RAMC in 1915 object of ww 1 bayonet.... letter map diagram play war poem war records painting
RAMC
Royal Army Medical Corps. this branch of the army was responsible for medical care and was formally founded in 1898
FANY
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. Founded in 1907 this was the first women’s voluntary organisation to send volunteers to the Western Front. It provided frontline support for the medical services by driving ambulances and engaging in emergency first aid
how many casualties was there in the four years of war
2.7 million
1/4 not seen by medical services (700,000 men)
2 million were treated but 5.6% of those died from their wounds
150,000 died after receiving medical care
BEF
British Expeditionary Forces
70,000 men
features of a frontline trench?
barbed wire no-mans land ammunition shelf firestep duckboards dugout sandbags brodie helmet elbow rest parpet
